Friends and Lovers (Bernard Butler album)

For the Marsha Ambrosius album, see Friends & Lovers (album).
Friends and Lovers
A closeup illustration of a man's face, focused on his sunglasses with red and yellow lines emanating from them
Studio album by
Bernard Butler
Released25 October 1999
RecordedNovember 1998 – February 1999
StudioRAK and Konk, London; Chipping Norton Recording, Chipping Norton
GenrePop rock
Length50:13
LabelCreation
ProducerBernard Butler
Bernard Butler chronology
People Move On
(1998) 		Friends and Lovers
(1999) 		In Memory of My Feelings
(2020)
Singles from Friends and Lovers
  1. "Friends & Lovers"
    Released: 13 August 1999
  2. "You Must Go On"
    Released: 11 October 1999
  3. "I'd Do It Again If I Could"
    Released: March 2000

Friends and Lovers is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Bernard Butler, released on 25 October 1999 through Creation Records. He released his debut studio album, People Move On, in early 1998; within a few months, Butler had accumulated enough material for his next release. Recorded between November 1998 and February 1999, Butler produced the sessions at RAK Studios in London, before moving to Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, and finishing at Konk Studios in London. Described as a pop rock release, Friends and Lovers had been compared to the works of Mott the Hoople, Small Faces and Spooky Tooth.

Friends and Lovers received generally favourable reviews from critics, several of whom considered it an improvement on People Move On. It peaked at number 43 in the United Kingdom, while only one of its singles charted, namely "You Must Go On" at number 44. "Friends & Lovers" was released as the lead single from the album on 13 August 1999, which was followed by some club shows. "You Must Go On" was released as the second single on 11 October 1999; that same month, Butler supported Texas on their UK tour. He had planned to embark on a headlining UK tour in early 2000, but had cancelled it when Alan McGee left Creation, and followed by the shutdown of the label. "I'd Do It Again If I Could" was released as the album's third single, exclusively in the United States.